Crimping machine



Feb. 5, 1963 E. FLO\ D, JR.-, ETAL CRIMPING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 9. 1958 BY Rubowh Feb. 5, 1963 FLOYD, JR., ETAL CRIMPING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 9, 1958 INVENTOR.

Hum 9096 Sr.

BY Rudph 3. Pevme M Wv A Feb. 5,-\1963 E. FLOYD, JR., ETAL 3,076,490

CRIMPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 BY Rumph J. eevme E. FLOYD, JR, ETAL 3,076,490

Feb. 5,-\ 1963 CRIMPING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 9, 1958 INVENTOR. Edwm ((0 6 Jr. BY Rubolyhfi. Perme AM W w W Fb- 5, 1 63 E. FLOYD, JR., ETAL 3,07

' CRIMPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 9, 1958 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. Gbum @0196 Sr.

BY Ru bol ph OT Revme ,m Wv

United States,- Patent ()flice.

3,076,490 Patented F eb.- 5,, .1963:

Edwin Floyd, Jr., Harrisburg, and Ru'dolph J. Pei-me, York, Pa., assignors to'AMFIncorporated', Harris-i burg, Pa.-

FiledSept. 9, 1958,1Ser. No. 759,910

1 Claim;v (Cl. 153-1) It is an'objectofthis invention to provide: an: automatic machine whereby the connector is positioned and held stationary while a pair of dies cometogether -to make. a crimped connection to insure proper positioning of the connector during the crimpingstroke;

Machines for applying connectors instripzform have the advantage of being able touse the strip to successively position-the foremost connector during the feeding cycle.: However a 'machine for crimping independent connectors is deprived of this feeding advantage. Thus it is an object of this inventiontocprovide amachine for storing a plurality of independentrconnectorstandfeeding themseriatim tothe crimpingdie's. 1 Other objects and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to thoseizskilled in the art upon a reading of the following. detaileddescriptionWhen-taken in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration in order that others 'skille'din the artmay fully understand theinvention and the principles thereof-and themanner of applying it in practicaluse so thatthey may'm-odify it in variousformseeach as-rnaybebest suited-to the conditions of aparticular" use.-

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a "machine ernbodying principles of this inventionasshown 'inperspectiv'e;

FIGURE 2 is a- -plan'view"of*the device :shown. in FIGURE I partially broken away; illustrating the driving mechanism when the dies are in their open or inoperative position;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the dies in closed position;

FIGURE 4 is a side plan view of the device shown in FIGURES 1-3;

FIGURES 5-7 show the mechanism for adjusting the dies relative to the driving means;

FIGURES 8-10 illustrate the one cycle clutch in various positions of its cycle;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view showing the relationship of the clutch to the fly wheel;

FIGURE 12 is a partial view showing the magazine mounted relative to the dies;

FIGURE 13 is an end view showing the device for locating the magazine;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the dog which forms part of the clutch mechanism; and

2 FIGURE .15 is a fragmentaryview at thedogaand the. clutch'operating arm.

As 'shown' in FIGURE 1 .the machine may :be ;con'-: sidered to be comprised. of various. components including:

. a base A; amotor B;=a magazine C;.crimping means D;'.

means for conveying energy fr'omthe motor to the: dies1:E.: The crimping means comprises a pair of crimping 'die s 10, 12 slidable on a track14 for longitudinal: movement toward or away from each other (FIGURE 2). The die '12 has a bell. cr'ank: 1 6 pivoted theretosat pin :18 with the other end journalled in a roller 20..

Av cam plate' 22 is. .eccentricall'y pivoted about shaft 24 and a trackway 26 .in :the cam:22 accommodates a-r'oller" 20. As shown in FIGURES. 2 and '3, rotationof the'cam 22 aboutthe shaft 24 causes the roller 20 to ride in the trackway- 26 whereby it describes a 'path urgingthe bell crank 16" in a counter-c1ockwise direction, causing the die 12 tomove in a direction toward die 10. The die 10 has a similar bell crank 16'pivotedat one endbypim 18; the otherend secured *to a roller 20 which'r i'des in 'trackway 26 locatediin cam plate 22'; The cam 22 also rotates eccentr-ically inthe opposite direetionabout" the shaft 24"to cause the die ltl'tom-ove toward the die 12. A tie bar 28 provides support forpivoting each be'll. crankat one end'thereof as well as synchroniiing v the dies. Thus rotation of the "shaft 24 caused'the dies tomove between open and c'losed positions.

The adjustment means. "(FIGURES "5-7) 'for properly aligning the dies relative to the bell'crank "(and 'thusthe cam plate) includes the pin 18 which is splinedto an" eccentric 30, which in turnis positioned irran eccentric opening32 in. the 'die link-34. One-endof the die linlc is "split as at 36-1and a threaded member 38yis used'to secure the die link 34 to the eccentricSO. Initiallythe gap 36 provides a'loose'fit between the die link 34 and the pin 18. The eccentric is rotated until itproperly adjusts' the die link 34 relative to thebellcrank. Then the threaded member 38 is usedito tighten the link'34' so that it firmlyholils the partsinithe'adjusted position. The opposite die 10 is adjusted irrth'e same manner. A 'finer. adjustment of the dies is obtained .by eccentric pins 39 and 39". I

A-standard {motor B is 'empl'oyed as a driving means, with a belt 40 and 'belt'tightener' ll' drivingja flywheel, 42,; which in turn 'drives" the "shaft 24 via a one. cycle clutch (FIGUREII').

As shown in FIGURE l-1,;the shafti2-4 normallyrotatesfreely with respect to the flywheel 42r Theicllitchfis' com prisedof a clutch plate 44- fixedly 1securedrto "the shaft "42 by means of a splined connection 46, secured in .pla'ce'bya set screw 47. A section of-the clutchuplate: 44' is longitudinally slotted'as at-48- toreceive; a'clutclrrdoga50.. spring 52in the clutch plate biases the dog 50 toward a clutch receiving plate 54 which is fixed to the flywheel by a pin 56. A slot 58 in the plate 54 accepts the dog 50 so that when the spring 52 is extended, the dog 50* fixedly engages a slot 58 in the clutch receiving plate 54. In this position rotation of the flywheel 42 causes rotation of the clutch and of course rotation of the shaft 24.

An operating arm 60 normally retains the dog 50 in its retracted position, i.e. with the flywheel rotating independently of the clutch or shaft. When the arm 60 is raised from the longitudinal path of the dog 50, the spring 52 urges the dog 50 toward the slot 58 in the clutch receiving plate 54 to cause engagement. After one revolution of the clutch, the arm 60 is returned to its initial position to again disengage the clutch from the flywheel.

The mechanism for actuating the operating arm 60 is illustrated in FIGURES 8-11. The arm 60 and a second arm 64 form a crank K which is pivoted at 62. A first link o 66 contains a slot at right angles to the plane of the crank, and has therein a pivot pin 70 fixed to the housing which rides in the slot 68. A second pin 72 projects from the first link 66 and rides in a slot 74 in a second link '76 which is pivoted by pin 78 to the housing H. An arm 80 secures the second link 76 to a solenoid S. A spring 82 biases link 66 in a counter-clockwise direction while a spring 84 biases the crank arm 64 in a clockwise direction. A shoulder 86 on the link 66 engages the arm 64 so that movement of the link 66 relative to the pin 70 drives the crank arm 64 in a counter clockwise direction, against the action of spring 84.

The solenoid may be operated by any convenient means, such as a foot pedal (FIGURE 1). Starting with the clutch disengaged (FIGURE 8) operation of the solenoid S urges the arm 80 away from the housing H. The link 76 is moved clockwise carrying the pin 72 with it whereby the link 66 travels in the same direction as the arm 80. The shoulder 86 bears against the arm 64 urging it in a counter clockwise direction (FIGURE 9) so that operating arm 60 is also moved in a counter-clockwise direction. This raises the arm 60 clear of the path of the dog 58. The spring means 52 urges the dog into the slot 58 in clutch receiving plate 54. The clutch thus rotates with the flywheel thereby causing rotation of the shaft 24.

When the clutch has rotated approximately 180 (FIG- URE 10) the dog 58 will bear against and depress the arm 66, thus releasing the shoulder 80 from the arm 64. The spring means 84 again urges the crank K in a clockwise direction so that the operating arm 60 returns to its initial position. Continued rotation of the clutch through the remaining 180 brings the dog into alignment with the operating arm 60 whereby it is again disengaged from the clutch receiving plate 54. A cam surface 57 on the dog 58 bears upon a beveled surface on the operating arm 60 to cause this disengagement (FIGURE Spring means 82 returns link 76 etc. to their original position. A brake band (not shown) may be employed to control the speed of the clutch.

Operation It is apparent from the foregoing that actuating of the solenoid causes the clutch to engage the flywheel, thus operating the shaft 24 through one revolution, after which it is disconnected until the solenoid is actuated again. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, one revolution of the shaft 24 causes one revolution of each of the earns 22 and 22. A single revolution of the cams 22 and 22" operates the dies 10 and 12 through a complete cycle, i.e. they travel toward each other until their rollers are located on the high points of the cams wherein the dies are close enough to compress a connector positioned therein. Completion of the cycle withdraws the dies and releases the crimped connector. The one cycle clutch insures operating conditions wherein one operation of the foot pedal will cause one, and only one, actuation of the dies through the crimping cycle and return.

The feeding mechanism includes a magazine 90 which contains a plurality of chutes with a plurality of connectors stacked in each chute. The magazine is supported on a trackway '92 by flanges 94 and 96. An ordinary rack 96 and pinion 98 connection is used to move the magazine along the trackway. The magazine is positioned so that one of the chutes is above the crimping position of the dies. The connectors are fed by gravity into a channel 100 which holds them in the proper crimping position. When the dies are brought together, a beveled finger 102 and 102' on each die separate the connector to be crimped from the column of connectors so that only the lowermost connector is in the crimping position. When a chute is empty, the pinion is rotated to move the rack, thus repositioning a different chute above the dies.

An oil vent 104 is provided (FIGURE 11) to lubricate the journalled bearing 106 surrounding shaft 24.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claim when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

We claim:

A device for crimping electrical connectors including a pair of movable dies, cooperable to crimp a connector, a motor means for generating energy, linkage means between the motor means and the dies for transmitting said energy from the motor means to the dies, said linkage means comprising a fly wheel having at least one slot therein, said fly wheel driven by said motor means, a rotatable shaft journaled in said fly wheel, a clutch plate secured to said shaft and rotatable therewith, means for operating said dies by rotation of the shaft, connecting means between said clutch plate and said fly wheel comprising a slidable member on said clutch plate adapted to slide into engagement with said slot, to connect the fly wheel to the clutch plate, and arm means associated with said clutch plate normally holding said slidable member disengaged from said slot, and operable to permit the connecting means to engage the slot through only one revolution of the clutch plate, and means for retaining the slidable member in the disengaged position until reset and reengaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,506,535 Kotzich Aug. 26, 1924 1,549,963 Byerlein Aug. 18, 1925 2,065,820 Mellon Dec. 29, 1936 2,253,459 Davis Aug. 19, 1941 2,271,359 Zeruneith Jan. 27, 1942 2,360,317 Conklin Oct. 17, 1944 2,494,702 Graves Jan. 17, 1950 2,687,149 Badeau Aug. 24, 1954 2,804,622 Winberg Sept. 3, 1957 2,939,505 Bucher et al June 7, 1960 

